What we learned from BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023
perepelovskyBLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023, the first major tournament of the new season, has ended. For eleven days, twelve teams from Europe, the CIS and North America demonstrated their skills developed during the off-season. However, the championship managed to show the strengths and weaknesses of each of the participants, and also made it possible to determine the strongest representatives of the scene at the start of the season. Now it's time to sum up the results of BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 and formulate brief conclusions for each team.
The best teams of the tournament: Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports
It’s worth starting with the winners of the tournament, that is, with the best teams in the group stage. In this case, there were no sensations, although each of the listed teams surprised with their consistency in their performances.
Let's start with Team Vitality, who got three wins over Astralis (2:0), Evil Geniuses (2:0) and Heroic (2:1). The Danish-French team did not show anything new, but by correcting the gaps, the guys were able to return to the ranks and prove that it was possible to work with the available material. But if there are still difficulties with communication and getting out of difficult situations, then the shooting of the team did not let us down.
We are redirecting towards FaZe Clan, which a day before the start of the championship hastily tried to replace rain. But if k0nfig did not grow together, then we managed to find consolation in the face of es3tag. The Dane did not disappoint, as the team closed out Complexity Gaming (2:0), OG (2:1) and once again OG (2:0) with him. It's clear that it's hard to judge the game with a stand-in, but even in such a situation, FaZe Clan managed to adapt and show a fresh game, tailored for a fast style.
We wrap up with a review of the winners together with G2 Esports. Contrary to expectations and general skepticism, the Samurai managed to build on their recent success and got three confident wins over BIG (2:0), NAVI (2:0) and once again NAVI (2:0). Most importantly, the European team looked like an integral mechanism, where each element knew its place and performed exactly the function it was supposed to. Given the crazy shooting, G2 Esports absolutely deservedly won the group and moved on.
Worst teams: Team Liquid, BIG, Complexity Gaming, Evil Geniuses and Ninjas in Pajamas
Now we move towards the losers of the championship. Each of these teams excelled in their own way, but in general terms, they all failed at BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023.
Let's start with Team Liquid, which showed a promising game at the end of last season. However, in this championship, the North American team scored only one victory over Complexity Gaming (2:0), but at the same time suffered a number of optional defeats. Most importantly, "liquid" completely lost their style, ceasing to feel the rhythm of the game. And to sum up what we saw, Team Liquid made a strong regression in terms of overall shooting and interactions.
Let's continue the North American tour by talking about Complexity Gaming. It is not worth stopping for a long time, because the team suffered two defeats in the group. However, in the Play-In, the team managed to slightly improve their position by getting a victory over Evil Geniuses (2:1) and taking away a map in the game against NAVI. And yet, Complexity Gaming remains the same team that in its current form will never fight for high places, since there is no game pattern here at all.
Moving on to Evil Geniuses, who managed to change her mind right during the championship. If in the group the North American team looked very worthy, and even managed to beat Heroic (2:1), then in the Play-In these guys quickly resigned and managed to lose to Complexity Gaming. Rounding off what they saw, the Evil Geniuses are in an unenviable position, since even the change of sniper did not help the team open up. And there is a feeling that the situation will not get off the ground any further.
Another terrible tournament happened to BIG. The German team suffered two losses in the group from G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pajamas, but still took one victory from the championship. However, BIG held a very controversial tournament, where they once again showed their inability to compete with direct competitors.
Speaking about the disappointments of the championship, you can not pass by Ninjas in Pajamas. Firstly, the Swedes managed to beat BIG (2:0), but then the team started having real difficulties. First of all, here it is necessary to say about the changes in the line-up, which significantly affected the chances of the team. Secondly, Ninjas in Pajamas simply didn't finish the rounds, which is why it naturally took the last place. And to sum it up logically, the Swedish team continues to stick to its unsuccessful line, as it still relies on the game as the second number.
Instability is our everything: NAVI, Heroic, Astralis and OG
In the end, it is worth discussing the cases of the remaining participants of BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023. The teams presented did not fail at the last championship, but did not look coherent enough to celebrate their success.
First of all, I need to say about NAVI. Born to Win is in the construction phase and going through a transitional period. However, even in such circumstances, the team fulfilled its task and made it to the Spring Finals 2023. Nevertheless, if you look at the game, the Ukrainian team failed more regularly. Most importantly, NAVI lost twice in the G2 Esports group, where they were defeated by the Samurai. Moreover, in the victory match over Complexity Gaming (2:1), the team looked unprincipled, creating opportunities for the North Americans. Thus, "Born to Win" is still far from its peak, but on individual skill they continue to stay afloat.
The Heroic team is in a similar situation, with the only difference being that the Danes didn't change their roster. In fact, Xizt's wards cannot yet come up with something new to surprise their opponents. And the game according to the old strategies no longer works. So it turns out to defeat weakened opponents and those who themselves wish it. However, if we sum up Heroic's performance, then the protracted decline can greatly affect the future prospects of the team.
The Astralis team was quite pleasantly surprised, which started its journey in the tournament with two losses from Vitality and Heroic in the group. However, then the Danish team obviously worked on themselves in order to get two wins in the Play-In and qualify for the Spring Finals 2023. And if things go on like this, the team can return to the top. On the other hand, while the Buzz adaptation is underway, Astralis will continue to storm and produce mixed matches.
Here, too, one cannot pass by the side of OG, which in some places showed glimpses of an intelligent game, but at the same time they often made mistakes. Moreover, even at the group stage, ruggah's wards fought against FaZe Clan and defeated Team Liquid twice. However, general sluggishness led OG to a natural loss to Astralis in the second round of Play-In. However, if earlier the team lost in terms of shooting, now everything is much better with this parameter. It remains only to work on the overall structure in order to become stronger in the next tournaments.
BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023 was held from January 19 to 29 in Copenhagen. As part of the competition, 12 partner teams competed for a total prize pool of $177,498, ranking points, and six tickets to the BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2023.
Results of BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023
- 1st-3rd place: Team Vitality, FaZe Clan and G2 Esports — $27,500 + 2,400 points + slot in BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2023
- 4th-6th place: NAVI, Heroic and Astralis — $17,500 + 1,200 points + slot in BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2023
- 7th-9th place: Complexity Gaming, BIG and OG — $8,500 + 900 points + slot in BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023
- 10th-12th place: Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid and Ninjas in Pajamas — $5,666 + 600 points + slot in BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2023
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